1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of telecommunication network control.
2. Description of the Background Art
Many locally managed telecommunication systems, such as PBXs, employ "least cost routing" software to reduce telecommunication costs. The system's manager arranges with more than one interexchange carrier to carry the system's traffic from the local exchange to which it is connected to other exchanges. The manager keeps track of each carrier's charges and populates the routing table in the "least cost routing" software. The charges may be the regularly tariffed charges of the subscriber's primary carrier or contracted charges offered by an alternate carrier for a bulk discount or for discounting traffic during a specific time period during the day. The "least cost routing" software will examine each call attempt and automatically decide which carrier is the best economic choice for that call. If the call attempt fails, the software usually defaults the call attempt to the subscriber's primary carrier.
Telecommunication carriers regularly enter into wholesale contractual arrangements with other carriers to use part or all of such other carriers' telecommunications networks, for example, to complete calls to geographic regions the first carrier does not serve or to provide additional capacity on routes, or portions of routes, for which the first carrier may have little or no available capacity on its own network facilities at that time.
Recently a great deal of competition has developed between telecommunication carriers. This has been stimulated by both regulatory and technological changes. As telecommunication becomes more of a commodity it would be of great benefit to consumers to stimulate this competition and facilitate both a carrier's and a consumer's ability to make economic choices between telecommunication carriers.